ENDOWMENTS
Permanent support for the Discovery Center with a gift that is invested for long term growth and earnings. Establish an endowment or contribute to an existing endowment with the ability to direct the annual distribution from your endowment to be used to fund Discovery Center work that is important to you or a loved one.
turn discovery into legacy
Nestled amidst the magnificent Northwoods of Wisconsin, The North Lakeland Discovery Center is where discovering connections with nature happens on a daily basis, a place where a sense of wonder is continually awakened, and an ethic of care for nature is passed along. We nurture the values of generations by making outdoor education, exploration and experience accessible to all.
Create an endowment to provide permanent support of Discovery Center work
An endowment is a gift that is invested for long term growth and earnings that permits annual distributions while preserving the principle as a stable foundation for our organization. As an endowment donor, you may direct that the distribution is used for any activity within the mission of the Discovery Center:
- nature education in local schools or via our Traveling Naturalist program
- citizen science including our lakes monitoring program
- bringing inner city youth to the Discovery Center for our Residential Programs
- invasive species prevention, shoreline restoration and community outreach from our Woods and Water program
- trail building and maintenance and other campus improvements
- support of our Personal Development Program, our annual intern program teaching and training Wisconsin's future conservationists
- many other purposes within the NLDC mission
NaTURAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION OF WISCONSIN
Our Endowments are managed by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, regarded as the leading statewide foundation for conservation endowments. The NRF's Wisconsin Conservation Endowment is made up of over 100 endowment funds for Wisconsin based conservancy nonprofits including the North Lakeland Discovery Center. The NRF is Wisconsin-based and all endowments it manages stay right here in Wisconsin.
The Natural Resources Foundation provides professional management, economies of scale, and independence not available to the NLDC were it to manage its own endowments. The NRF uses passive investment fund management with TIAA resulting in lower fees and because the NRF is a conservation nonprofit organization even its low administrative fee goes right back to supporting Wisconsin's natural resources.
The NRF provides annual endowment reports to NLDC that detail the beginning and ending balance of each endowment as well as new contributions, distributions and investment performance. We will happily provide you a copy of this report annually.
FUNDING AND DISTRIBUTIONS
Starting one year after the establishment of your endowment, it will generate an annual distribution of about 4.5%, all of which will be directed to the purpose you have selected. NLDC will provide you an annual statement specifying the amount of that year's distribution, the purpose to which it was applied and current value of your endowment.
Endowments can be funded by gift of cash, appreciated securities or most any other asset that can be received by NLDC and converted to cash. The amount necessary to establish a named endowment is $15,000, an amount set by the NRF. You will work with NLDC to finalize a fund agreement which specifies key terms of the endowment.
"Donor Advised" funds
An endowment can be structured to allow donors to direct each year's endowment distribution to a specific purpose that the donor may vary from year to year. It would be our pleasure to contact you each year and discuss how that year's distribution is to be applied. Such endowments have a minimum fund requirement of $40,000.
"ACORN FUNDS"
Setting up an 'Acorn Fund' gives you the opportunity to establish an endowment by making contributions over a period of time. We would be delighted to work with you to set up funding over a period of months or years and maintain your contributions until they reach the level necessary to allow us to place an endowment with the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin.
If you are interested in learning more about establishing or contributing to an existing endowment, please contact Executive Director Don Anderson at (715)543-2085 or don@discoverycenter.net.
Frequently asked questions:
How is an endowment fund created?
You will work with NLDC to finalize a fund agreement - a legal document prepared by the NLDC's volunteer staff, which specifies key terms of the endowments, such as your endowment's name and purpose. Upon final signature by you and the NLDC and receipt of the minimum gift required to establish the fund, the endowment becomes active. The endowment will make its first distribution one year after it is established, in either January or July, whichever first occurs after the endowment's anniversay date.
How long does it take to set up an endowment?
Setting up an endowment includes the opportunity for the endowment's creator(s) to edit and review a draft endowment agreement, as well as time for NLDC to coordinate with the Nautral Resorces Foundation. We strive to do this as quickly as you wish, with a minimum of trouble to you. If your endowment needs to be established before a certain date, please let us know as soon as possible and we will make every effort to accomodate your timeline.
How are distributions made and calculated?
Annully, a percentage of the endowment's total asset value is distributed to NLDC for the purpose named in the endowment. Currently, the distribution rate is 4.5% per year, and is calculated by looking at the average fund balance over the existence of the endowment (up to 20 calendar quarters). The NRF establishes the payout rate following the annual review of the endowment's long-term performance. This formula ensures the ability of the fund to make distributions in perpetuity; to smooth out the available distribution amount during market fluctuations; and allows your fund and the distributions it makes to increase in value over time. No distribution is made from an endowment if the value of the endowment following distribution would fall below the original dollar value of the endowment, defined as the original gift and any additonal contributions, unless such distribution follows the terms outlined in Wisconsin's Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act.
What is the past rate of return on investements?
Rate of return depends upon the global market and investment strategies. The table below shows each rate of return in recent years.
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
-5.57 19.63 14.26 10.87 -15.16 15.43 10.71 15.83